


the secret ingredient

by worthitpendragon



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Cheesy, M/M, established barisi, pre-relationship domaro
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-22 17:34:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30042285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/worthitpendragon/pseuds/worthitpendragon
Summary: Nick and Mike were challenged to a bake-off by lawyer husbands Rafael and Sonny, but were the two detectives missing a key ingredient?Or the time Mike forgot to put the lid on the blender.
Relationships: Nick Amaro/Mike Dodds, Rafael Barba/Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 22





	the secret ingredient

**Author's Note:**

> not nearly enough domaro fics, so i decided to take matters into my own hands. enjoy my first ever fic!

Nick sat on the kitchen floor, covered in cake flour. 

“This is hopeless, we’re never gonna win. Look at them! It’s like they can read each other’s minds.” 

Over at the other kitchen station, Sonny and Rafael were already icing and decorating their cupcakes while still finding time to steal kisses in between. 

Mike had his back turned. “They’ve been married for 4 years, what did you expect?” He was still trying to save their lumpy cupcake batter. “Now would you stop moping and help me fix this.”

Nick pulled himself off the ground and dusted the flour off his pants while he tried to remember how he got roped into this mess. 

“What do you think? More eggs?” Mike looked at Nick with big, desperate eyes. 

“I think the eggs might be the problem.” Nick looked into the bowl, a yellow lumpy mess scattered with eggshells. 

“Who doesn’t like a little crunch?” Mike chuckled, still looking at Nick. 

Nick smiled at him endearingly. Mike had a way of lifting the heaviness of any situation. And that laugh, those eyes.. Nick remembered why he was here. Mike Dodds was the one person he could never say no to. 

“Alright, I have an idea.” 

Nick rummaged around the cabinets until he came up with a sifter. He strained the batter until it looked like something they could scoop into cupcake liners without wincing. 

“You, my friend, are a genius.” Mike took out the ice cream scooper and started to fill the empty tins. 

Friend. 

Nick looked down at his shoes. He was a grown man with two kids and yet he couldn’t stop himself from reading between the lines of everything Mike said. 

Nick and Mike had a rocky start. When Mike showed up to the squad room for the first time, all Nick could see was red. His career was in shambles and Mike’s appointment to the sergeant position that should’ve been his felt like salt in his wounds. But Mike proved himself to be different from the rest of the NYPD. Even if he was the chief’s son, he never looked at Nick like he was just a PR problem. Still, when Mike offered him the sergeant position, Nick was shocked to say the least.  
“You just got here.” Nick had said in disbelief at what the new sergeant had just announced. 

“Look, I learned a lot during my time here, but svu just isn’t for me.” 

“Mike.. you know I can’t be sergeant.” Nick’s voice was almost a whisper as he thought about his past. 

“I talked to my father and pulled some strings, all you gotta do is pass the exam.” Mike spoke with such conviction, it was hard not to believe him. 

“Why me? I’ve made twice as many mistakes as fin and rollins and anyone that’s seen my file wouldn’t even dream of promoting me.” 

“I can’t speak to who you were before I got here. All I know is, behind all that red, you’ve got heart. You advocate for the victims like they’re family. Fin and Rollins are good, but this job… it was yours before I even got here. All I did was keep the seat warm.” 

Was that the day Nick had fallen in love with Mike? Or was it during the stakeout when he realized Mike had memorized his coffee order, or maybe it was the time he caught Mike letting Zara try on his badge. Nick had lost track, mostly because it seemed like he found something new to love about Mike everyday. 

“There! Now we just have to make some frosting while those bake.” Mike announced, standing proudly in front of the oven. 

Nick peered over the recipe book. “Frosting.. seems easy enough.” 

____________________________________________

“Turn it off! Turn it off!!” 

Mike yanked the plug, but it was too late. Strawberry cream was splattered across the kitchen and all over their faces. 

“You forgot. The lid.” Nick said wiping the pink frosting off his eyelids. 

“New York’s finest can’t even operate a blender.” Rafael and Sonny had walked over to see what all the commotion was about. 

“Don’t look so smug Barba, our cupcakes will be so good, they won’t even need frosting.” Mike said this with such confidence, Nick almost forgot that they were covered in icing. 

“Uhh guys? Are these chocolate cupcakes?” Sonny was standing in front of the oven, a concerned look etched on his face. 

“I thought you set the timer!” 

“I thought you set the timer!” 

Mike opened the oven door, releasing the smoke that was trapped inside. He set the cupcake tins on the counter. They were burnt to a crisp. 

“Great.” Mike took off the oven mitts and hung his head in defeat. 

“Hey.” Nick looked at Mike. “Who doesn’t like a little crunch?” Mike laughed and Nick felt a sense of pride for being the one to lift the weight of the situation. 

“I’ll spare you guys the humiliation of putting that in front of a judge. Losers still have to clean up.” Rafael tossed a rag at Mike. 

“You know this frosting is not bad at all. You mind if I take this? It would make a great filling for my cannolis.” Sonny held up what was left of the frosting. 

“Be our guest.” Nick said, happy to get rid of the pink cream that was still splattered all over the kitchen walls. 

“Oh and feel free to try our cupcakes. They were a labor of love, unlike.. whatever this is.” Rafael motioned to the blackened cupcakes. 

“Alright babe I think that’s enough smacktalk for today, let’s go get a drink while they clean up.” Sonny led Rafael out of the room. 

Nick took a bite of the cupcakes Sonny and Rafael had left them. “These are really good.” He said, annoyed. 

“What? Let me see.” Mike took the cupcake out of Nick’s hand and took a bite. “Damn, you’re right.” 

“Must be all that love they baked into it.” 

They both immediately burst into laughter at the thought of “love” being the secret ingredient. 

“As if Sonny hasn’t been baking since he was in diapers and Rafael doesn’t read culinary books in his spare time,” Mike pointed out. 

“Those two make quite the pair.” Nick said. 

Mocking and teasing the happy couple was almost a requirement for two single guys like Nick and Mike, but they both knew they would give anything to have what Sonny and Raf had. 

____________________________________________

Nick dried the dishes while Mike washed. 

“Oh Nick I think you’ve still got some frosting on your face.” Mike said, barely looking at Nick. 

“What? Where?” Nick felt around his face for pink frosting. It had taken them half an hour to get the stuff off the walls and Nick could’ve sworn he washed it all off his face. 

“Right… there.” Mike’s soap sud covered hands smothered Nick’s face with bubbles as he let out a loud laugh. 

“Alright Dodds, you wanna play dirty?” Nick grabbed the sink hose before Mike could stop him and sprayed Mike relentlessly, drenching him completely. 

Mike threw more soap suds from the sink and then resorted to throwing sponges. The floor had become slippery from the water fight and Nick caught himself losing balance. He reached out to grab onto Mike’s arms to steady himself, but instead he took them both down to the ground. 

They landed on the floor, both dripping from head to toe, laughing. 

“You know what Nick Amaro, we make a great team.” Mike said after they had caught their breath. 

Nick looked at him. The sincerity in Mike’s eyes knocked the breath out of him. 

Mike continued. “I mean I know our cupcakes are more like coal cakes and our frosting is still on the ceiling and we’re sitting in a puddle of dishwater right now but—“ 

“but we’ve got heart.” Nick cut him off. 

Mike smiled as he remembered their conversation from when he transferred out of svu. 

“Yeah. We’ve got heart.” Mike repeated. 

Nick could have sat there, wet socks and all, for an eternity, just looking at Mike. But lovingly gazing at a co-worker was hardly professional even if they weren’t working in the same division anymore. 

Nick had finally made up his mind to get up off the floor when Mike closed the distance between them and kissed him. 

Nick laughed into the kiss when he realized that Mike tasted like cupcakes. 

Mike pulled away. “What?” 

“Nothing. You’re sweet, that’s all.” Nick couldn’t help grinning at the double meaning. “I was wondering how long it would take for you to do that.” 

“Well, I could hardly make a move on you as your superior officer.” Mike joked

“Oh so that’s the real reason you left your post.” Nick said. 

Mike laughed as he stole another kiss. “It might’ve crossed my mind.” 

“You know if love really is the secret ingredient, our cupcakes are probably just as good at Sonny and Rafael’s.” Nick said looking over at the black cupcakes that had been abandoned on the counter. 

“I bet they do, but instead of testing that theory, why don’t we go get some real food, something a little less crunchy perhaps.” 

Nick laughed. Mike Dodds was the one person he could never say no to.

**Author's Note:**

> i love a lovesick nick amaro and a sassy rafael barba. top tier characters and i love them sm. hope you enjoyed reading :)


End file.
